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	Priest Abuse Lawsuit against Green Bay Diocese Can Proceed By John Lee The Post-Crescent December 8, 2010 http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20101208/APC0101/101208089/Civil-suit-against-diocese-can-proceed A civil trial against the Diocese of Green Bay by two brothers who were sexually assaulted by a priest can proceed, an Outagamie County judge has ruled. Judge Nancy Krueger rejected a motion by the diocese to dismiss the case filed by Todd and Troy Merryfield, saying there is adequate evidence the diocese knew Feeney was a threat to children when it placed him in several parishes where he continued to have contact with children. In denying the diocese’s request to dismiss the case, Krueger also rejected the defense claims that the six-year statute of limitations had expired since the case occurred in 1978. She said the diocese knew about Feeney’s actions as early as 15 years before he assaulted the brothers. “By placing Feeney in situations where he would have contact with children, (diocese leaders) represented that he could be trusted with children,” Krueger said. She said the Merryfields did not know about the diocese’s actions dating to the mid-1960s until Feeney was charged and convicted of sexual assault in 2003, starting the clock for the statute of limitations. One report shows the diocese knew about an allegation against Feeney that involved a 13- or 14-year-old boy in 1965 or 1966, and that minutes from a 1974 diocesan personnel board meeting showed a psychologist thought Feeney’s “controls over sexual impulses may fail under stress” and that Feeney was “working under risk.” Both those facts are admissible evidence to show fraud by the diocese, Krueger said. “A trier of facts could reasonably infer the diocese had prior knowledge that Feeney was a danger to children or had inappropriate contact with children before the Merryfield assaults,” she said. “The court finds there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the diocese fraudently misrepresented that Feeney was not a risk to children and could be safely placed in positions in which he had contact with children.” Appleton attorney John C. Peterson, who represents the Merryfields, said the ruling is a victory for the Merryfields and will now move the civil case, filed by the brothers in 2008 against the diocese, to trial. Alice Hodek, co-director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Green Bay, said Krueger’s ruling follows a 2007 state Supreme Court ruling that church officials are not protected “when it comes to intentionally concealing and transferring child molesters.” She said the diocese transferred Feeney to 18 parishes before he was moved out of the diocese, and said diocese records released by court order show the diocese has received at least 30 reports of sexual assault of children by Feeney. “Feeney would never have succeeded in his long criminal career if he were not aided and abetted by his bishops,” Hodek said. “Feeney may have committed the child sex crimes, but his bishops and church supervisors drove the getaway car.” Feeney, now 83, was convicted in 2003 in Outagamie County on four counts of sexual assaulting the Merryfields, who were 12 and 14 when the abuse occurred. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and is being held in the Dodge County Jail, state Department of Corrections show. Milwaukee attorney Patrick W. Brennan, who represents the diocese, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. John Lee: 920-993-1000, ext. 362, or jlee@postcrescent.com
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